New county rankings reveal health of local communities

A newly released annual county health ranking highlights systemic inequities that have influenced the health of Miami Valley residents long before COVID-19.

The annual health rankings from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin researchers rank each of Ohio’s 88 counties based on health outcomes. They also detail more than 30 clinical and social factors that impact residents’ health.

While each Ohio county receives a rank 1 through 88, the researchers who created the rankings encourage people to look at which quartile each county is grouped in and to focus on the data underlying the ranks, and not the rankings themselves.

Locally, Montgomery and Clark counties were among the lowest group of counties for health outcomes. Greene, Miami and Warren were among the highest.

“These gaps in opportunity have to be addressed if we want a fair, inclusive and equitable recovery from the pandemic,” researchers said of the latest rankings. Read more